Marcus Smart an effective agitator for Celtics

Friday

The fourth-year guard made winning plays in the comeback victory over the Houston Rockets Thursday night.

BOSTON – There is rarely any in between when it comes to evaluating Marcus Smart’s game.

The Celtics fourth-year guard either receives a lot of criticism – mainly because of his sub-par shooting ability – or he receives praise for his ability to contribute with defense and hustle plays.

And because of the unique ness of Smart, the Celtics are going to have quite a decision to make next summer after his four-year, $14.8 million con tract expires.

The two sides failed to ne gotiate an extension before an October deadline, meaning Smart will be a restricted free agent on July 1 and any team can offer him a deal that the Celtics will be able to match.

It figures to be a dilemma for the Celtics, who are in a tight salary cap situation and might not be able to bring Smart back if he gets over whelmed by another team.

And should Smart wind up exiting, the Celtics would be a losing a hard-nosed player who brings so many intangibles and makes up for a lot of inaccurate shooting.

Look no further than Thursday night’s stunning comeback victory over the Houston Rockets when Smart was involved in four critical plays in the final 13.5 seconds as the Celtics overcame a 26- point deficit.

He first made a quick layup to get the Celtics within a point, then perfectly fed a cut ting Jayson Tatum six seconds later to make it a one-point game again.

Smart followed that by do ing something that has rarely happened in the history of the NBA – drawing two offensive fouls on inbounds plays against a most valuable player candi date.

He had James Harden so flustered that Harden fouled Smart with 7.3 seconds and 3.7 seconds remaining, the first setting up Al Horford’s game- winning basket.

“Man, that just shows how crazy he is,’’ admired guard Terry Rozier. “He’s special, man. Not the first time I’ve seen it. He’s just great. You need a crazy guy like that.’’

Harden was 0 for 7 with four turnovers in the time that Smart was guarding him, ac cording to ESPN Stats & Info. He went 3 for 17 overall in the second half and was clearly frustrated on a night when only two referees worked the game due to an injury.

Following Tatum’s basket, Harden used his left arm to move Smart out of the way and was called for the foul by Tony Brothers. After Horford’s bas ket, Harden used the ball to connect with Smart’s chest, then pushed him again with his right arm, and Brothers blew the whistle.

“Marcus has been drawing charges since he was in high school and college, and really getting up under guys, and making them uncomfortable, and especially in a pressure sit uation like that, he made the right decision,’’ said Kyrie Irv ing. “Defensively we can al ways go to him to be sure he’s making the right plays.’’

Smart is an instigator who likes to get under the skin of opposing players, and he has a huge fan in coach Brad Stevens.

Did Smart use that tactic against Harden, the NBA’s top scorer?

“If that’s what we want to call it, I probably did,’’ said Smart, who when asked if he excels at being a pain, replied, “I guess you could say that. My mom might say that.’’

Smart is making just 34 percent of his shots, including 31 percent from 3-point range this season. He is a career 36 percent shooter, making 29 per cent from 3-point range.

Despite an emphasis on getting better in that area dur ing the offseason, Smart still struggles, though he has been more effective in recent weeks.

Still, Stevens has him on the court at all the important times in games.

“I think his greatest strength will always be that he’s a guy that makes winning plays that sometimes aren’t quantified,’’ Stevens once said. “He impacts winning.’’

Marcus Smart certainly did that Thursday night in crunch time.

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprise news.com. Follow him on Twit ter at @JFenton_ent.

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